BOSTON — A former bank teller has pleaded has pleaded guilty to embezzling more than $180,000 from two customer accounts while working at a Boston branch of a national bank, the U.S. Attorney said Thursday.
Derek Aut, 28, of Saugus, pleaded guilty in federal court on Wednesday to embezzlement by a bank employee and aggravated identity theft, U.S. Attorney Leah Foley said in a statement. U.S. Senior District Court Judge William Young scheduled sentencing for June 16.
Aut was previously charged by criminal complaint on Dec. 18, 2024.
Aut worked as a bank teller at TD Bank, and investigators said he and spent “some or all” of the stolen money gambling at the Encore Boston Harbor in Everett, The Boston Globe reported in December. The bank fired him in April.
According to the charging documents, while working as a bank teller, Aut stole from the bank accounts of two customers by forging the victims’ names on withdrawal slips, among other things.
Investigators said that Aut used his Employee Identification Number to tap into the account of a 52-year-old woman he had assisted and made 46 withdrawals, totaling $156,000, the Globe reported. He also used his EID number to make four withdrawals from the account of a second victim, a 99-year-old woman from Boston, totaling $10,700.
When one of the victims noticed money missing from her account, Aut attempted to cover his theft by taking money from the other victim’s account and depositing it into the first victim’s account, Foley said.
In total, Aut took more than $180,000 from the victims’ accounts.
According to the Globe, investigators found that Aut frequented the Encore casino over the course of eight months, making 31 visits and exchanging more than $100,000 in cash for casino play. Authorities said his total “cash out” from the casino was $26,300 and his losses from gaming were about $32,000.
For the charge of embezzlement by a bank employee, Aut faces up to 30 years in prison, five years of supervised release and a $1 million fine.
For the he charge of aggravated identity theft, Aut faces a mandatory sentence of two years in prison to be served consecutive to any other sentence imposed.
This is a developing story. Check back for updates as more information becomes available.
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